Activists raise red flag over pollution of Ulhas river

Environmentalists, who have been waging a long battle for restoration of Ulhas river, have alleged that due to contamination in the drinking water zone of the Ulhas river, citizens of Ulhasnagar and nearby cities have been getting drinking water contaminated with sewage.

NGO Vanashakti, on Wednesday, wrote a letter to several authorities including the environment department, as well as the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) stating that Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation and Ambarnath Municipal Council had failed to implement their own assurances given to the Supreme Court of taking steps to prevent the discharge of untreated sewage into the river.

In 2017, the Supreme Court had made the chief secretary of Maharashtra give the undertaking to disburse Rs 100 crore for restoration of Ulhas and Waldhuni rivers, while hearing the Ulhas river pollution matter.

Stalin D, Director, Vanashakti, who carried out site visits early this week said that both the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation and Ambarnath Municipal Council continue to neglect the river. "At Ambarnath, where the water is diverted to the sewage treatment plant (STP) we found that the chamber was broken and instead of the water flowing to the STP, it was directly entering into the river," he said.

The Situation at Khemani Nullah, Ulhasnagar, too is not very different with the facility to divert sewage into the sump were inadequate causing seepage into the river. "We were also astonished to find that the system of pumping was not automatic but manually operated, which is not reliable as even few hours of non-functioning in peak hours can cause overflow directly into the river," informed Stalin pointing out that they also found that the river was covered with water hyacinths for over a kilometre, which is the best indicator that untreated sewage from upstream was also being released into the river.

"We expect proof of credible action taken on the points raised by us including massive constructions, townships coming up on the flood plains of the river, failing which we will move to the courts," added Stalin who after seeing the rampant pollution of Ulhas River due to release of partially and untreated industrial effluents along with domestic sewage filed a petition in the NGT in 2013.

A senior MPCB official said that they will direct their staff to carry out site visits and necessitate action.

DRINK AT OWN RISK

As per sources, at Ambarnath, where the water is diverted to the STP, the chamber remains broken and instead of the water flowing to the STP, it enters the river directly